With vacation season coming up, some of us might feel like we cannot leave our home businesses in order to get a little rest and relaxation. While shutting up shop for a week or two is one way to handle the whole home business question, you might also consider getting a substitute or someone to come in and “cover things” for you while you take a little time off.
Just because you are a sole proprietor running a home business, doesn’t mean that you can’t take advantage of some tried and true ways to make sure work is under control while you go on vacation. If you are working a more traditional job, you get a substitute or someone to cover your work obligations while you are gone. In your home business, you can also find someone to take over on some level while you get some much needed time off.
If you are in direct sales or part of an “organization”—there may be someone within that organization who can take over for you and handle customers while you are gone. You might also consider getting a family member or friend to just cover the basics—say, deliver product, answer phone calls and e-mails, take care of billing or shipping. All of these are tasks that could be filled by a trusted substitute.
For those of us who are freelance writers or have deadlines to meet, it is possible to get things done in advance so you can relax while you’re off on holiday. Although, you may find it necessary to check in once or twice just to make sure nothing has come up. Some regular bloggers might get a substitute to handle the daily blogging and keep things fresh while they are away. If you work in consulting, you may be able to just take some work with you and not really need to find someone to stand in while you are off.
Keep in mind that just because you are independent and running your home business—this does NOT mean that you can’t take a vacation or a little time off—it just a takes a little more planning and the possible location of a substitute in order to relax and not worry about business!
See Also: Taking Time Off